202 Voice of the Hear (1/2)
Right now, she secretly went to her old room in House Prescott to spend the night there.
Unlike House Nystrom, the security in her father's old mansion was lax. Fortunately, despite her absence for so long, the mansion was still very kept-well. She had a feeling that Kiho took good care of her father's house as well.
She wasn't worried that she'd get caught because she overwhelmed the entire room with her own Mana. That meant ordinary people would temporarily forget about the existence of her chamber as long as she was there.
It was a technique that Wong taught her.
”I'm fine.”
She was glad that she was already sitting on the edge of the bed when she heard the familiar husky (and sexy) voice from the other end of the line. If she had been standing, her knees would have buckled already.
Kiho…
”How about you, my lovely wife?”
She felt a lump in her throat when she confirmed that it was indeed her Kiho.
Of course, she was relieved to know that Winter had found his father. Still, she had to put her guard up around her husband. Although she trusted Kiho, she couldn't say the same for the being that could take over Kiho's body anytime.
”Greetings, Lord Nystrom,” Tilly greeted her baby-honey in the most formal and distant voice that she could muster at the moment. She hated to treat her husband this way, but as the Supreme Fire Mage, she couldn't mess up this time. Never again would she make the same mistake that Soleil Rosenberg committed in the past. ”This is Winter's mother. May I know where my son is?”
I'm so sorry, hon.
Her husband fell silent.
He must have been shocked.
Well, she was shocked as well. As far as she knew, Kiho's memories were erased. She wasn't sure if he had followed her instructions or he was just doing his job as a duke. But either way, she was glad that he still considered her as his wife.
”Winter is sleeping peacefully beside me,” Kiho said in his usual monotone voice. He must have been matching her pace. Maybe he realized that acting so familiarly with her from the get-go had made her feel uncomfortable. ”He's safe and sound.”
”That's a relief,” she said. If Winter was with Kiho now, then Jameson and Solenn may have already gone to the North. ”Are you in the Royal Capital?”
”We're in the sea of Atlenta.”
Ah, Atlenta.
It was the port town where she and Kiho met for the first time in that current timeline. She felt nostalgic to hear that.
I'm happy that Winter reunited with Kiho in the same where we first met.
”Our little rascal doesn't want me to ask questions so I don't know how he found me,” her husband continued. ”Still, I want to assure you that I will protect our son.”
”Of course. I don't want to be separated from our son again,” he said. ”But to make sure that no one else will see him, I've asked Amilo to stay in our mansion for the time being. They'll be using the annex building and I'll limit the servants' access to it.”
”That sounds sensible,” she said in approval while nodding her head.
Also, she was relieved to hear that Kiho was being that careful.
That meant that even though his memories were erased, he still believed in her. It sounded like he followed her instructions after all.
”Lord Nystrom, I haven't retrieved my memories yet but I learned everything I need to know from the people who took care of Winter and I for the past five years,” she lied. It hurt her to lie to her husband but she had to. She wouldn't risk ruining their carefully crafted plan for her personal feelings. ”I heard that the head maid and head butler of House Nystrom are trust-worthy. Can you let them look after Winter while my son is in your care?”
She had faith in Louisa and David. She knew that they would take care of Winter. To be honest, she kind of felt bad that she didn't include the Leni and Lani in her plan. But she thought too much ”spies” in the mansion would have been too risky.
”Forgive me, Duchess Nystrom,” Kiho said in a voice filled with guilt.
Yes, she noticed that he called her formally but she knew he did that because she addressed him by his title a while ago. He had always been good at following her pace and she loved that about him. But that wasn't important right now.
”Why are you apologizing, Lord Nystrom?” she asked nervously. ”What happened to Louisa and David?”
”His Majesty suspected that they weren't brainwashed so he had them arrested,” he said in a devastated voice.
She took a deep breath to control her anger. ”Are they dead?”
”No,” her husband answered right away. ”Duke Sherwood promised me that he will save them. I haven't gotten a word from the duke yet but I decided to trust him.”
Okay, that was a huge relief. ”Duke Sherwood will betray everyone but you so I'm certain that he'd keep his promise. He's your sasaeng fan #1 after all.”
”Pardon?”
”It means an obsessive fan,” she explained briefly, then she changed the topic. ”How did Aku Moonchester find out that Louisa and David weren't brainwashed?”
”Louisa had an argument with Lady Huxley.”
Ah, that Lucina Morganna b*tch, huh?
”Lady Huxley wanted to throw away your portraits in the mansion and Louisa wasn't able to control her emotions. She stubbornly disobeyed Lady Huxley,” he explained. ”I believe that's when His Majesty realized that they weren't brainwashed.”
She heard everything but only one thing stuck to her. ”So, why are you letting that b*tch act like she's the new duchess of House Nystrom?”
He heard Kiho cough on the other line.
Gosh, it's not like it's the first time he heard me cuss at someone.
”Lady Huxley is Julian's etiquette teacher, Duchess Nystrom,” Kiho said, emphasizing her title as if he was saying that she was still the madam of House Nystrom and not that b*tch. ”I think she's the one His Majesty asked to keep an eye on me. If I suddenly push her away, His Majesty will realize that I'm not under his control.”
And that would be disadvantageous for them.
If Aku Moonchester realized that Kiho was working with her despite their memories being erased, the emperor would definitely do something to control her husband in a much dangerous way. So in short, they had to pretend that Kiho was still his puppet.